Strategically Leveraging Information Systems to Transform Business:

Trends, Opportunities and Challenges

Dr. Gabriel Giordano2013

Dr. Giordano Background

From New Mexico, USA

Automation Specialist - Research International

PhD Florida State University

Professor at IESE Business School (Barcelona)

Currently MIS Professor at OU

Research – Technology supported comm.; Transformational IS projects

Teaching – Business Intelligence and IT Strategy

IS and Non-IS Professionals:Why you should care…

8-10% of revenues are spent on IS

Strategic importance of IS is at an all time high

IS is the platform for business

IS is the source of business intelligence

IS is the forum for global collaboration

Seminar Goals

Understand

• Establish baseline terminology• Clarify fundamental concepts

Discuss

• Leverage your expertise• Share knowledge and personal experience• Discuss illustrative examples

Analyze

• Apply concepts in context of businesses• Express your opinions• Discuss the future of business strategies

“Information Systems” Defined

IT

People

Processes IT

IS

Strategic Level Drivers(Business Goals/KPIs)

Operational Level Drivers(Process Problem Areas)

“Strategic” IS

Significant impact on the enterprise over the next 3 years

High potential for disruption to businesses and industries

Often require significant capital investment…$$$, and have a higher level of implementation risk due to the fact that the technologies are not mature yet

Competitive risk in being late to adopt

More and more potentially strategic technologies are emerging – which is exciting, but challenging for businesses to understand

The Gartner Hype Cycle

IS Trends for our Seminar

Cloud Computing

Mobile Computing

Big Data

Social Networks in Business

IT Security

Cloud Computing…experts say:

Cloud Computing is in the “Trough of Disillusionment”

Approximately 5% of global applications are currently in the cloud

However, by 2014, 20% of businesses will own no significant IT Assets

At year-end 2016, more than 50 percent of Global 1000 companies will have stored customer-sensitive data in the public cloud

The Gartner Hype Cycle

Cloud Computing Analysis

Define the trend.

What are the opportunities it creates?

What are the challenges it presents?

What is your opinion of its strategic importance?

Cloud Computing Summary…

Creates IT capabilities and capacity quickly – IaaS and SaaS

Minimizes initial capital expenditures and ongoing maintenance costs

Increases multi-platform accessibility

Highly Scalable

Allows small and medium businesses to compete with large businesses

Security, regulatory, and privacy concerns are key challenges

Mobile IT…experts say:Tablet PCs are just past the “Peak of Inflated Expectations”

Wearable computing devices are at the “Peak of Inflated Expectations”

In 2013, mobile devices (smartphones/tablets) will overtake PCs as the primary web-access device

By 2014, there will be a 90% mobile penetration rate worldwide

By 2015, mobile app. development projects targeting smartphones and tablets will outnumber desktop PC projects by a ratio of 4-to-1

Mobile Computing Analysis

Define the trend.

What are the opportunities it creates?

What are the challenges it presents?

What is your opinion of its strategic importance?

Mobile Summary…Security and privacy concerns are key challenges (e.g. BYOB trend)

Context awareness will be a key factor for interaction & delivery

A key goal is to enable real-time decision making at the point of interaction

New input methods and types of displays are emerging

Big Data…experts say:Big Data is at the “Peak of Inflated Expectations”

The volume, variety, and velocity of data available to businesses has exploded

In 2013, 2.5 exabytes (a billion gigabytes) of data are created each day, and that number is doubling every 40 months

Business Intelligence software is the top IT spending priority for companies right now

Companies that use data-driven decision making are 5% more productive and 6% more profitable than their competitors

Many companies are looking at Amazon and Google for ideas on how to leverage Big Data

Big Data Analysis

Define the trend.

What are the opportunities it creates?

What are the challenges it presents?

What is your opinion of its strategic importance?

Big Data Summary…

Successful businesses are learning how to collect more data, analyze data in new ways (e.g. predictive analytics), and report data in ways that makes it more usable (e.g. dashboards)

Big Data is useful for both internal decision-makers and customers

Data scientists are in high demand

Unstructured data is often valuable, but it is also more complex

Overcoming manager intuition is challenging for most businesses trying to use BI and Big Data

Social Networks…experts say:

Social Analytics is just past the “Peak of Inflated Expectations”

BY 2016, social IT will be integrated into most business software

Linked-In value is $22 B

Facebook value is $80 B

The Gartner Hype Cycle

Social Networking in Business Analysis

Define the trend.

What are the opportunities it creates?

What are the challenges it presents?

What is your opinion of its importance?

Social Networking Summary…Internal and External uses for businesses

Internal relationship building amongst colleagues

Streamline communications/collaboration with colleagues and clients

Product Development & marketing…direct interaction with customers/clients

Influencers are a key area of interest for businesses

Enables crowdsourcing

IS Security…experts say:Through 2016, the financial impact of cybercrime will grow 10 percent per year, due to the continuing discovery of new vulnerabilities

At year-end 2016, more than 50 percent of Global 1000 companies will have stored customer-sensitive data in the public cloud

IBM reports that in 2013, cyber thieves have already begun to successfully hack into cloud computing environments

Attacks on mobile devices will double each year

Social networks have become one of the primary sources of data for identity thieves

By 2016, 40 percent of enterprises will make proof of independent security testing a precondition for using any type of cloud service

IS Security Analysis

Define the trend.

What are the opportunities it creates?

What are the challenges it presents?

What is your opinion of its strategic importance?

IS Security Summary…

Many of our trends, also create significant IS security risks

IS Security in the age of interconnectivity and mobility is a huge challenge

More sensitive info than ever being exchanged on the Internet

Social networks create an even larger threat to security & privacy

Hackers are becoming more sophisticated & more active

Threat of Cyber-terrorism is significant (e.g. financial markets, energy grid)

Further Predictions…• Globally, 30% of large businesses, 40% of medium businesses and 60% of small

businesses will run the majority of their enterprise, BI and collaboration systems via cloud computing within 10 years.

• 50% of IT budgets will shift from maintenance to innovation in the next 10 years.• US small businesses will continue to lead the migration to the cloud.• The demand for IS analysts and data scientists will triple, while the demand for

technicians will be cut in half in the next ten years. • There will be an intense battle between companies trying to be the leading cloud

computing aggregator within the next 10 years.• Social networks will become a basic part of organizational communication.• Google and Apple will provide intense drama as they clash for market share in

mobile devices, mobile apps, and internet advertising. This will change the face of consumer IT, especially mobile IT/commerce.

Your Predictions??

Final Analysis Activity

Pick any business and discuss their strategic goals & future IS challenges/opportunities. What strategic recommendations would you make for them in each IS trend area we discussed?Questions to consider in your analysis:

• Will they leverage Cloud Computing to increase their IT capabilities and capacity?• Should they integrate social networks into their business? If so, how?• How can they improve their businesses through wireless IT & mobile commerce?• How can they use Big Data strategically?• What IT security vulnerabilities must they protect themselves from?